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Reddick earns A's first OF Gold Glove since '85

Reddick earns A's first OF Gold Glove since '85

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Reddick's nice grab 0:32

10/7/12: Josh Reddick sprints across the outfield grass and makes a nice sliding grab in the bottom of the second inning

By Jane Lee
/
MLB.com |

OAKLAND -- A's outfielder Josh Reddick, whose locker is adorned by a cherished WWE championship belt he received as a gift, took home his very own hardware on Tuesday, winning the Rawlings Gold Glove Award for his work in right field.

Reddick, the eighth A's player to win the award, is the fourth Oakland outfielder to do so and the first since Dwayne Murphy in 1985. The last time an A's player won a Gold Glove was 2006, when third baseman Eric Chavez earned his sixth straight.

2012 Gold glove winners

POS

AL winner

NL winner

C

Matt Wieters, BAL

Yadier Molina, STL

1B

Mark Teixeira, NYY

Adam LaRoche, WAS

2B

Robinson Cano, NYY

Darwin Barney, CHC

SS

J.J. Hardy, BAL

Jimmy Rollins, PHI

3B

Adrian Beltre, TEX

Chase Headley, SD

LF

Alex Gordon, KC

Carlos Gonzalez, COL

CF

Adam Jones, BAL

Andrew McCutchen, PIT

RF

Josh Reddick, OAK

Jason Heyward, ATL

P

Jeremy Hellickson, TBJake Peavy, CWS

Mark Buehrle, MIA

"Very exciting," Reddick said Tuesday on a conference call. "I mean, it's a true honor to be in this category with everybody here and to represent the Oakland A's, who gave me this opportunity. I'm just happy I was able to pull it off for them and get the Athletics name more out there."

Presented annually since 1957, the prestigious defensive award is bestowed upon 18 players, one from each position -- barring a tie -- in both the American and National Leagues, as voted by the managers and coaches. The 25-year-old Reddick, fresh off his first full season in the Majors, beat out fellow right-field finalists Shin-Soo Choo of the Indians and Jeff Francoeur of the Royals.

"It's a huge honor," said Reddick, who also led the A's with a career-high 32 home runs in 156 games. "I've always taken pride in both sides of my game and tried to be that complete player who not only does it at the plate but can help save those runs. You never know what play, whether it's in the first inning or the ninth, is going to save a ballgame.

"That's one thing my father and my mother taught me, to leave everything on the field and play the game the right way. And if you're not going to do that, you might as well not even go out there."

Reddick's 15 outfield assists, which ranked third among AL outfielders, were the most by an A's player in 29 years and tied Rickey Henderson (1980) and Reggie Jackson (1971) for third most in Oakland history. Reddick also tied for fifth among AL outfielders in double plays with three.

Those numbers could dwindle in 2013, for no other reason than opponents playing it safe when Reddick's arm is involved.

"I think maybe the third-base coaches and some guys who are going to take second are going to keep this in the back of their mind," Reddick said. "It's something that maybe adds more to my game, and hopefully they think twice about taking that extra base now."

Jane Lee is a reporter for MLB.com. Read her blog, Major Lee-ague, and follow her on Twitter @JaneMLB. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.